Slavery and human trafficking statement

Financial year ending 31 July 2017.

Introduction

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was introduced to help eradicate slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in the operations and supply chains of companies. This statement is made pursuant to Section 54, Part 6 of the act and includes information about the Jisc group, its own operations and supply chains, and how we are approaching the eradication of slavery and human trafficking in our business.

Responsibility

Jisc is committed to preventing and mitigating exploitation, corruption and bribery. We take this responsibility seriously. We will not accept modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking anywhere within our operations or supply chain.

The production of an annual statement is not the entirety of Jisc’s corporate responsibility. All staff have a duty to be vigilant to any behaviour which suggests a breach of the Modern Slavery Act.

Jisc group structure

The Jisc group is made up of three companies. Jisc is a registered charity (company number 05747339; charity number 1149740) and is the holding company of two wholly-owned subsidiary companies – Jisc Services Limited (company number 02881024) and Jisc Commercial Limited (company number 09316933).

Jisc is the only company in the Jisc group which is required to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement, though the risk areas and activities outlined in this statement apply equally to all companies in the Jisc group.

What Jisc does

Jisc provides and advises on digital technologies and content for UK education and research. In doing so, we assist the educational providers in the sectors we serve to deliver against their own strategic priorities to be efficient, effective and world-leading education and research institutions. We help our sectors to remain competitive in a global marketplace by having access to innovative services and technologies that are unique to the UK in their delivery through Jisc as a central source of infrastructure and innovation.

Jisc operations

We directly employ more than 500 staff across the UK, as a combination of office-based staff and home-workers. We are confident that our own operations are free of slavery and human trafficking. Colleagues across the Jisc group work under comparable terms and conditions that are in accordance with UK employment law.

We have a range of employment policies in place which ensure that our employees are fairly treated, supported, remunerated and understand the behaviour expected by the organisation. These policies include, but are not limited to: equality and diversity, pay and reward, annual leave, health safety and wellbeing, prevention of harassment and bullying, anti-bribery and corruption, and whistleblowing. All of these policies are available on request.

Jisc supply chains and risk areas

We have a team of procurement specialists managing procurement processes. The suppliers we use to deliver our activities, and our own operations, are primarily EU based.

We also create, negotiate and have access to a series of frameworks - umbrella agreements put in place with a group of suppliers who fit certain criteria and in accordance with the EU public contracts regulations 2015.

We contract with a range of suppliers, from large international IT companies to local cleaning and catering companies. Companies providing manual or lower skilled workers to provide services are likely to be at greater risk of exploitation – e.g. cleaning companies for Jisc offices in the UK, or workers producing technology components or Jisc-branded goods overseas. Awareness raising amongst our employees is key to ensuring that these risk areas are recognised and employees know what to do if they become aware of any concern associated with exploitation.

Due diligence

As part of our approach to eradicating modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking, we require all commercial organisations bidding for Jisc work to provide a copy or link to their anti-slavery statement. Where such a statement does not exist (for example, where the bidder does not meet the act’s criteria for a statement to be produced), we require a statement from the bidder confirming that it is committed to and acts according to the moral principles of the act.

Training and awareness raising

An overview of the act is available to all staff in the Jisc group alongside this statement. Staff will be expected to familiarise themselves with the key requirements of the act and their responsibility as individuals to report behaviour, to designated Jisc staff, which they believe suggests a breach of the act.

Jisc’s whistleblowing policy will be updated in the coming months to include appropriate reference to the act and the duty of staff. The processes within the policy will be reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for behaviours reported in the context of the act.

Actions in the last reporting year

In the last reporting year, we have:

Raised awareness of the act within Jisc via presentations at staff meetings and via the Jisc procurement team. Further focus will be given to this area in the coming financial year

Embedded the requirements of the act into all procurement processes and policies

Reviewed our contract terms to respond to the provisions of the act

Introduced a requirement for all suppliers to provide a link to their slavery and human trafficking statements

Investigated joining a monitoring organisation to audit the supply chain of technology components. Further investigation will continue into the next reporting year

Future plans

In the coming financial year (to 31 July 2018), we will:

Update the whistleblowing policy to reflect the act

Continue to raise awareness of the act within Jisc via presentations at staff meetings and via the Jisc procurement team, as well as resources on the staff intranet

Review and amend our contract terms to respond to the provisions of the act, including reserving our rights to terminate contracts with suppliers in the event that there is evidence of non-compliance with the act

Continue to investigate joining a monitoring organisation to audit the supply chain of technology components

This statement is available via a link in the footer of this website. It will, in addition, be provided on request to all those organisations in receipt of Jisc services. This statement will also be included in the Jisc trustees’ report and financial statements for 2016-17.